Football correspondent Steve Tucker says Gary Medel's passion for his country was not replicated during his first season with Cardiff City

Gary Medel's tears as Chile exited the World Cup at the hands of Brazil were extremely moving, but Cardiff City fans could be forgiven for asking where that passion was as the Bluebirds meekly dropped out of the Premier League?

The midfielder’s waterworks as he and his plucky team-mates crashed out on penalties against the hosts is set to become one of the defining images of the tournament with Medel himself rightly earning plaudits from all quarters as he fought through the pain-barrier to rally to the Chile cause.

We know there is no greater motivator than proudly wearing the badge of your nation on your chest, no bigger honour than carrying the hopes of your countrymen on your shoulders, but why, for the second-half of last season at least, did Medel turn in a series of barely adequate performances and basically look uninterested in Cardiff’s plight?

Where was the weeping and chest-beating then?

Where were the heroics in his final game as the Bluebirds were thumped 4-0 at Sunderland and saw their fate virtually sealed?

A week later at Newcastle Medel was not even playing as relegation was confirmed for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men after just a single season back in the top flight.

In one of the biggest ironies you are ever likely to see the Cardiff manager said he was not prepared to risk Medel’s ‘World Cup dream’ by playing him while carrying a slight injury in the still vital final two games of the campaign.

Far from instilling wonder and pride then, the sight of Medel strapped up, fighting through an agonising muscle-tear for Chile on the weekend actually looked rather galling to your average Cardiff supporter.

I’ve got nothing against having pride and passion when playing for your country, but how about displaying some for the club that pays your wages too?

Medel is a talented player, there is no doubt about that, but Cardiff barely ever got the best from him. In the end his time in the Welsh capital has to be seen as a failure.

The man who arrived with great fanfare from Sevilla at the start of the campaign branded ‘El Pitbull’ finished proceedings basically as ‘El Poodle.’

The midfielder remains the Bluebirds record-signing having been brought in by former boss Malky Mackay in a deal worth anywhere between £9m and £11m depending on your propensity for paranoia.

Whatever, the Bluebirds never got their money’s worth from the player whatever the final price.

Sure Medel started well enough for Cardiff, thrillingly so, to be fair. Early in the campaign there was a string of man-of-the-match performances as Mackay employed him just in front of the Bluebirds back four.

Medel impressed hugely back then, strong in the challenge with a massive engine and displaying a range of passing that took the breath away.

Whether the Bluebirds utilised him correctly is an on-going argument, but what is certain is that those early outings were as good as Medel was ever going to play in a Cardiff shirt.

If one was to draw up a graph of Medel’s showings for the Bluebirds it would resemble a good downhill ski-run. The law of diminishing returns indeed.

The real turning point for Medel, if not for Cardiff themselves, came with the sacking of Mackay in late December.

As we all know now, Solskjaer came in and failed to perform any miracles.

Gary Medel in action for Cardiff

For Medel himself it was a watershed moment, not only did his performances for the Bluebirds start to falter in the new year his interest in the club seemed to wane too.

Although you can hardly blame him, the farce of the stand-off between club-owner Vincent Tan and Mackay and the subsequent dismissal of the Scot was enough to make anyone throw up their hands in despair.

It was an act of self-sabotage by the Bluebirds hardly likely to inspire anyone.

Solskjaer never got the best from Medel that much is evident. Whether that was the fault of the manager or the player or a combination of both is unclear, but it was totally obvious to anyone who watched the second half of the season.

Indeed the way things tailed off at the end, as Medel was allowed to ‘focus’ on the World Cup despite the Bluebirds fighting for the lives, was pretty shameful and set the completely wrong tone.

Solskjaer has now said Medel is too good for the Championship which is true.

We are after all talking about a player with the best pass completion rate in the World Cup, a man named in many expert’s team of the tournament so far.

It is hard indeed to picture him trotting out at Brentford away if one is being honest.

The only good news for Cardiff from Brazil is that Medel’s performances for Chile should bump up the price of his transfer fee.

They will need that to happen if they are to recoup an outlay which looked on the high side even during a summer of questionable profligacy in the Welsh capital.

In the end the Chilean will always be filed in the ‘what might have been’ category in the Welsh capital.

As he heads off to Valencia or Inter Milan or wherever, one can only wish him luck, but is also left to reflect on a player who seemed to have every attribute needed to become a legend at Cardiff, but who somehow failed to make the grade.

Medel is class, but was rarely class for the Bluebirds.

Medel is a fighter, but sadly, unlike for his country, he just never fought hard enough for the Bluebirds cause.

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